Casale 1630 20 florins
This specimen was lot 1259 in Jean Elsen sale 162 (Brussels, June 2025), where it sold for €600 (about US$832 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"ITALIE, CASALE, assiégée par l'armée espagnole d'Ambroise Spinola, Cu 20 florins, 1630. D/ INSTAR HORVM- FLORESCAM Écu de France couronné entre F-XX. À l'ex., CASALE. R/ HIS DVCIBVS OMNIA DOMANTVR La Justice et la Force deb. de f. À l'ex.: TOIRACE CLI/PEO. Très rare. (Italy, city of Casele, besieged by the Spanish army of Ambrose Spinola, copper twenty florins of 1630. Obverse: crowned arms of France between "F - XX", "CASALE" below; reverse: Justice and Strength facing. Very rare, fine.)
Lors de la guerre de succession de Mantoue, Mazarin fut chargé par le pape Urbain VIII de négocier la paix entre la France et l'Espagne, pour éviter un conflit entre puissances catholiques. C'est à l'occasion de ces négociations qu'il rencontra Richelieu pour la première fois. L'épisode de la levée du siège de Casale rendit Mazarin célèbre dans toute l'Europe. La ville était défendue par le maréchal de Toiras, commandant des troupes françaises assiégées par l'armée d'Ambroise Spinola. Alors que Français et Espagnols allaient s'affronter, Mazarin s'élança à cheval entre les deux armées en criant "Pace, Pace" et en agitant son chapeau pour montrer que la paix venait d'être signée par les deux puissances. (During the War of the Mantuan Succession, Mazarin was tasked by Pope Urban VIII with negotiating peace between France and Spain to avoid conflict between Catholic powers. It was during these negotiations that he first met Richelieu. The episode of the lifting of the siege of Casale made Mazarin famous throughout Europe. The city was defended by Marshal de Toiras, commander of the French troops besieged by Ambrose Spinola's army. As the French and Spanish were about to clash, Mazarin rode between the two armies, shouting "Pace, Pace" and waving his hat to show that peace had just been signed by the two powers.)"
Casale, originally part of the Marquisate of Montferrat, passed thru various hands before becoming an estate of the Dukes of Mantua. On the extinction of that duchy, Casale passed to Savoy in 1713.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: copper, 38-39 mm diameter, this specimen 18,71 g.
Catalog reference: KM 58.2, CNI II, 192, 1; Mailliet 24, 2.
- Korchnak, Lawrence C., Siege Coins of the World, 1453-1902, Lancaster, PA: Classical Numismatic Group, 2021.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 162: Collection Jacques Druart, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2025.
Link to:
- Casale 1628 ducatone Dav-3871
- Mantua (1629) scudo Dav-3956, struck during the siege of the War of the Mantuan Succession, 1629-30
- Coins and currency dated 1630